


Stepping up

by MissSlothy



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Complicated Relationships, Eventual Happy Ending, Injury, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 18:44:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17330396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissSlothy/pseuds/MissSlothy
Summary: Everyone who has a loved-one serving dreads the phone ringing in the middle of the night.Steve receives that call.  It leads him to make a decision.





	Stepping up

**Author's Note:**

> Warning:  
> Cath does appear in this, briefly. However, if you want Steve and Cath to have a happy ending this fic isn't for you. Please don't read it.
> 
> I wrote this fic as part of a challenge, set by RL fanfic writing friends. It's not supposed to upset anyone.

“Steve.  You made it.”

The voice calling his name is gentle, barely about a whisper.  But it jerks Steve back to the present like someone’s yelled in his ear.  For a moment all he’s aware of is the frantic beat of his heart in his chest.  Slowly his other senses come back online.

He’s not on the USS Enterprise anymore.  He’d been in the mess when they’d found him, trying to chow down as fast as possible before going back on duty.  They’d been in the middle of battle simulation – work for 6 hours, eat for five minutes, work for another 6 hours.  Repeat for 24 hours.  Sleep.

He’d spent his allocated sleep cycle on a supply flight back to the islands.  He has no idea what time it is.  His eyelids feel like they’ve got sand trapped underneath them.  His body feels like it’s doubled in weight.

“Steve?”

Blinking, he winces.  God, his eyes hurt.  Looking down he realises he’s still wearing his khaki uniform.  His black combat boots are a stark contrast to the pale blue linoleum floor of the hospital.

The hospital.  _Danny_. 

He takes a step forward.  The world tilts.

“Whoa.” 

Strong hands grab him.  He’s steered to a chair.  When he resists he’s pushed down into the chair, gently but insistently.  He doesn’t need to look up to know who it is.  “I gotta get back in there, Lou.”

“Take a minute.”

Steve lets his head drop.  He doesn’t really have a choice.  Lou’s still got his hands on his shoulders.    Time passes.  He blinks, forcing his eyes to stay open.  His heart is still beating out a panicked rhythm against his ribs.  A paper cup filled with brown liquid appears in his line of vision.

“Coffee,” Lou says doubtfully as he takes the seat beside him.

Steve takes it.  He wraps his fingers around it.  Whatever it is, it’s hot.  He holds it tighter.  He hadn’t realised he was feeling cold.

“Have you seen him?”

Steve nods.  An image flashes into his mind of Danny unconscious in a hospital bed.  One side of his face is covered in angry-looking bruising.  His right arm is in a cast.  There are wires and machines.  Danny looks pale.  Too pale.

His heartrate speeds up.  His mouth feels dry.   He meets Lou’s gaze.  “What happened?”

Lou leans in closer.  His eyes are soft with understanding.  “It’s not as bad it looks.  There’s a hell of a lot of bruising.  The doc says once that goes down then—"

“How, Lou?”

Lou sighs.  “It was an accident.  Yesterday afternoon we got a call that the guys we were looking for were holed up in an apartment up on the North Shore.  It was nothing we haven’t done a million times before, Steve.  One of the guys ran for it.  Danny caught him at the top of the stairs.  They lost their footing and—”

“Yesterday _afternoon_?” He checks his watch.  It’s 13:00 hours.  It doesn’t tell him what day it is.  “Why didn’t you call before—”

“I called, okay?”  Lou rests a hand on his wrist, pushing his arm down.  “I called.  They said your ship was on a communications lockdown.  Danny’s injuries weren’t life threatening so—”

“ _Damn_ it, Lou.”

He doesn’t realise he’s on his feet until Lou’s looming beside him, both hands raised in front of him.  His heart feels like it’s going to burst out of his chest.  Nausea is making his skin feel clammy.  He takes a breath, then another one. 

“I should have been here.”

“Don’t do this to yourself, man.”  Lou’s resting a hand on his shoulder again.  “It wouldn’t have made any difference if you had.  Accidents happen.” 

The sound of someone clearing their throat makes them both turn.

“Excuse me.”  It’s a nurse.  She barely reaches Lou’s elbow.  “You can go back in now.”  Her eyes drop to the floor behind them.  “I’ll get someone to clean that up.”

Steve follows her gaze.  His coffee is all over the floor.  Looking down he realises it’s on his pants and hands too.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, dragging the single word kicking and screaming from his exhausted brain.  The nurse has already gone though and Lou’s nudging him back towards Danny’s room. 

Danny’s awake.  He looks awful but he’s awake and his eyes are bright and fully aware.

The world tilts again.

“He keeps doing that,” he hears Lou saying as he grabs for the doorframe.  “I don’t think he’s slept for a while.”

“Thirty six hours,” he says under his breath as he finds himself being led to a chair again.  “Maybe.”  He squints down at his watch.  “What day is it?”

“I told you not to call him.”  Danny sounds angry.

Steve blinks. The room comes back into focus.  Lou’s standing next to Danny’s bed. 

Lou shakes his head.  “Like that was ever gonna happen,” he grumbles as he pulls out a chair.  He glares pointedly at Steve.

Steve falls into it gratefully.

“You look like shit,” Danny says into the uneasy silence that follows.  He draws out the last word, his voice slightly slurred.

Steve shakes his head.  Danny shouldn’t be worried about him.  “I’m fine.”  He meets Danny’s gaze.  The bruising is obscuring half his face.  He looks down, guilt battering at his tired defences.  “Better than you.”

There’s a sigh.  “This is why I _didn’t_ want you to call him.”

“I told him it was an accident.”

“Steve.”  There’s movement in the bed in front of him.  Danny’s hand appears.  It taps him on the knee.  “Hey.  Look at me.”

He’s never been able to deny Danny anything, whether it’s tickets to swim with dolphins or the opportunity to run his own restaurant.  He looks up.

Danny’s looking straight at him, his bruised cheek resting on the pillow.  “I’m not gonna lie, babe.  I’ve felt better.”  He winces, his eyes drifting closed.  “I’ve _definitely_ felt better.  I’ll be back on my feet in a week.”

“Two weeks,” he growls in reply. 

Danny opens his eyes again.  He rolls them.  “You’re ridiculous, you know that, right?”

“ _Danny—”_

“Lou.  Make him sleep.”  Danny’s eyes drift closed again.  “My head’s hurting just looking at him…”

Steve watches as Danny’s breathing eases into sleep.  The pain lines around his eyes and mouth relax.  His own heart rate lowers in response.  He slumps in his seat.

Danny’s hand is laying on the edge of the mattress, reaching out towards him.  Tentatively, he rests his hand on top, curling his fingers protectively.  The hand under his twitches.  Danny sighs in his sleep.

Relief hits him like a physical blow.  He’s powerless to stop it.  He’s gulping in air but it’s still coming.  He wraps his free hand across his eyes just in time.  His shoulders start jerking, short, stiff jerks as he fights to hold it all in. 

Lou’s hands are on his shoulders again, holding tight.  They act as an anchor as he falls over the edge.

H50H50H50H50

The rest of the day passes in an exhausted blur.  Steve’s emotional meltdown has drained what little energy he has.  Lou pesters him occasionally with food and drink.  The food he declines: it tastes like sawdust in his mouth.  Training forces him to accept the drinks.

The light at the end of the tunnel is Danny.  As the day goes on he’s awake more often and for longer.  After several glaring competitions they silently agree that Steve’s going to stay.  Danny’s still not up to talking and Steve doesn’t want to talk anyway.  Instead, they watch TV.

A doctor appears in the early evening.  He insists they have to leave.  Lou extracts a promise from him to call if anything changes.  Then he bundles Steve out of the room before he can protest. Danny sleeps through it all.

When they pull up outside Lou’s house a while later, Steve raises his eyebrows but doesn’t protest.  Getting out of the truck he slings his kit bag over his shoulder, then goes where he’s led. 

Where he’s led is the Grover’s guest room.  Making a bee-line for the bed he pauses just long enough to take off his boots and shuck off his pants and shirt.  Then he collapses on the bed, pushing the bedcover back just far enough so he can crawl under it. 

Within seconds he’s asleep.

H50H50H50H50

At first he comes awake slowly.  His mind feels wrung out.  Every joint aches.  For a moment he imagines he’s still on the Enterprise, squashed in his bunk.  Gradually it registers there’s no engine noise, no vibrations, no voices or footsteps outside.  Opening his eyes confuses him even further.  The Navy’s never assigned him quarters on board with a queen size bed, carpet and floral drapes.

Everything comes back to him in a rush.

His phone’s in his pants.  His pants are on the floor.  He nearly over-balances as he reaches for them.  Snagging them, he reels them in.  His fingers are clumsy as he unlocks his phone.  Cursing, he scrolls through the screens.  Finding no messages, he collapses into the pillows again.

An adrenaline surge has him sitting up again.  His chest feels like it’s being crushed.  _Breathe,_ a little voice in his head reminds him.  _You really need to remember to breathe._

He takes its advice. 

A few minutes later he can feel his limbs again.  Swinging his legs over the side of the bed he gets up.  His eyes are drawn to his kitbag, sitting in the corner where he’d dropped.  On top of it, neatly folded, are a set of his own clothes.  _Lou’s been busy_ , he thinks, snatching them and heading for the shower.   He definitely hadn’t had them with him when he’d left for Reserve Duty the week before.

Standing under the warm water makes him feels better but he doesn’t linger.  He needs to get back to the hospital and Danny.  Now he’s more awake he wants to talk to the Doctor and find out how Danny actually is.

Getting dressed is surprisingly frustrating.  His hands and feet are still tingling, an after-effect of the adrenaline surge.  Shaking his head at himself, he forces his hands to work.  Putting on his boots, he slings his kit bag over his shoulder. 

Opening the door, he heads out.

It suddenly occurs to him he has no idea what time it is.  It’s light, that’s all he knows.  Transport to the hospital might be an issue.  Sneaking out of Lou and Renee’s house without saying thank you definitely is.

Hanging his head in shame, he tells himself to slow down. 

It’s difficult though because he still feels uneasy.  He needs to be moving _now_.  Deliberately moving slowly he returns his kit bag to the bedroom.  Then he goes in search of his friends.

There’s no sign of Lou but Renee’s in the kitchen.  She smiles, waving him to the kitchen table.

“Breakfast?” she asks, already heading to the refrigerator.  She takes out bacon and eggs before closing it again.

“No I’m fine,” he lies, returning her smile.  “I need to go check on Danny—”

His stomach interrupts him.  It growls loudly.

Renee raises an eyebrow at him.  “When was the last time you ate a meal?  I mean a proper meal, not something out of a vending machine.”

He smiles sheepishly at her.  “I’m not sure…”  He rubs his hand over his hair.  “What day is it?”

She puts a frying pan on the hob, adds oil and starts cooking.  “Tuesday.”

He blinks at her, stupefied.

“You’ve been asleep for ten hours,” she explains, adding bacon to the pan.  It sizzles on contact with the oil.  “We talked about waking you but Lou said you needed to rest.  Lou’s at the hospital,” she continues, anticipating his next question.  “Danny’s asleep right now but he’s fine.  The Doctor thinks he’ll be discharged in a couple of days.”

He closes his eyes as relief washes over him.  He lets out a ragged breath.

“Sit.”

The bacon smells so good.  It’s making his mouth water.  He sits.

Renee turns her attention back to the cooking, adding eggs to the pan.  A few minutes later he has a full plate of food in front of him.  From somewhere she’s conjured up toast and fresh coffee too.

It tastes as good as it smells.  He tells himself to eat it slowly.

“Better?” Renee asks him later, sitting down across from him, a mug of coffee in her hand.

“Better,” he confirms around a mouthful of toast.

She sips on her coffee.  Her expression is thoughtful.  “I hate those calls at 3am,” she says a while later, catching his eye.  “When that phone rings…you just know it’s not going to be good, don’t you?”

Steve puts down his fork.  He’s finished anyway.  And he’s got a feeling Renee’s got something to say.

“It’s the hardest part of being in love with someone who’s serving their country,” she continues, her voice dropping.  “You know it could happen.  But you always tell yourself it won’t be you.”

“Renee—”

“Those trips to the hospital, they feel like they take forever.  I’m trying to remember what was the last thing I said to Lou that morning?  Did I remember to tell him I loved him or was I yelling at him to take out the trash.”

“Don’t—”

She puts her coffee mug down.  Her eyes are full of understanding.  “Seeing him in hospital, seeing him hurt, a little bit of me dies every time.” 

He pushes his plate away, shaking his head.  “I don’t know what Lou’s told you but Danny and I aren’t—”

“Lou hasn’t told me anything.  Both of us, we’ve got eyes.”

The legs of his chair scrape across the floor as he goes to stand.  “Thanks for the breakfast.  It was delicious.  And thank you for the bed—”

“It’s alright to be scared, Steve.”

Renee’s spoken so quietly he can barely hear her.  Her words though, they go straight to his heart.  He sits back down.  Tracing the whorls of the wood table with his fingertips, he tells himself again to breathe. 

“I’m not scared.”

“Yes you are.”  Renee taps a fingernail on the table top to get his attention.  It works.  She pats her chest.  “This, what you’re feeling in here?  The panic?  That’s normal, okay.  That need to never let him out of your sight ever again?  That’s normal too.”

“I’m not—”

“Yes, you are.  Last night.  Today.  I’ve been there so many times, Steve.”

He stares down at his hands.  He carries on staring at them as Renee changes seats, coming to sit next to him.

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not.” He slots his hands together.  He feels like he’s standing on the edge of a deep dark abyss, one that he’s been trying for the longest time not to fall into.  He’s not even sure why he’s having this conversation except that maybe it’s been the longest forty-eight hours of his life and he’s tired of pretending.  And it’s Renee.  She and Lou, they’ve been through so much together.  He values her advice.

Swallowing hard, he makes himself look at her.  “He doesn’t know…he doesn’t know how I feel about him.”

Renee shifts beside him.  “Are you sure about that?”

“I’ve never told him.”

Renee looks like she’s about to say something, then changes her mind.  She sighs.  “Why not?”

He considers the question.  “It’s never been the right time.” 

She shakes her head.  Her lips quirk up.  “That’s where you’re going wrong.  You can’t wait for the right time.  You’ve got to make it happen.”

He rubs at his temple with his thumb.  “I don’t understand.  It’s not like I can just announce it…Danny, he’s got the divorce behind him and Rachel—"

“If you want something – _someone_ \- enough you have to fight for them,” she cuts in, her eyes flashing, “and if that’s not enough, you fight some more.”

“I don’t see—”

“Relationships – _real_ relationships – are hard.  You have to work at them.  You want Danny?  You have to show him how _much_ you want him.”

He stares at her for a moment.  “I don’t think…I don’t think I’ve ever done that for anyone.  Well, not for a relationship.” 

Renee shrugs.  It’s soft, understanding.  “Maybe you haven’t met the right person before.”

He frowns, absorbing her words, starting to understand the implications.  “What if…”  He swallows, tries again.  “What if it doesn’t work?”

She sighs, her face clouding over.  “I wouldn’t be telling you all this if I didn’t think there was a chance.  But if it doesn’t work…”  She sighs again.  “You move on.”

He chews at his bottom lip, already thinking ahead.  “But I gotta try, huh?  Otherwise I’ll never know.”

“Yeah,” she breathes, giving him a smile of encouragement.  “You gotta try.”

H50H50H50H50

The Navy releases him from his Reserve Duty, allowing him to defer it.  He’s relieved when it only takes one phone call to arrange.  He’d been expecting more of a fight.

It means he’s able to spend more time with Danny.  Suddenly getting what he’d been hoping for makes him nervous though.  His conversation with Renee is still at the forefront of his mind.

He tries to hide his nervousness.  He knows he’s failing dismally, a fact confirmed by the way Danny keeps looking at him sideways.  After a few hours though his nervousness disappears.  This is Danny. _His_ Danny.  That hasn’t changed.  Being in his company feels so natural.  It’s when he can be himself. 

There’s more he wants from their relationship.  So much more.  But this - these moments when it’s just the two of them - is what helps him make it through everything else that happens in his life.

He’s made a decision by the time the nurse ushers him out of Danny’s room, half way through the day.  Finding himself a seat in the waiting area he takes out his phone.  Pulling up an email address he types a short message then presses send.  He stares at the blank screen for a long moment. 

Getting to his feet he stuffs the phone back in his pocket.  Straightening his shoulders, he walks back to Danny.

H50H50H50H50

The following day he’s at home, getting the guest room ready for Danny.  He’s being released the next day. 

When he’d tentatively made the suggestion to Danny that he stay at his house, he’d expected an argument.  Instead, Danny had been surprisingly open to the idea.  He hadn’t given Danny a chance to change his mind – he driven home as soon as he’d been sent home in the early evening and started fixing the room.

Danny’s going to need more pillows; he’s got fractured ribs as well as the fractured wrist.  The deep tissue bruising on his right leg means he’s unsteady when walking.  Danny’s being stubborn about using a crutch for support; he’s convinced he can do everything on his own.  Moving the furniture will make it easier to get to the bathroom and give him something to hold on if he needs it. He’d been worried about the shower initially then he’d found an old piece of metal pipe and a couple of brackets in the garage that will make a good grab bar.  He’s whistling to himself as he measures out the holes for plugs and screws.  It won’t take long to fix.

He’s so engrossed in what he’s doing he doesn’t hear the knocking at the front door at first.  Eddie’s been staying with Junior, so he hasn’t got his canine early warning system either.  When it registers he runs down the stairs, cursing silently in his head.

He curses again when he opens the door.

It’s Cath.  She smiles, obviously happy to see him.  For a second his mind blanks out.  He’s frozen to the spot. Her smile flickers.

“Can I come in?”

His brain comes back to life.  He takes a step back inside, then another one.  She follows him, almost colliding with his chest when he stops.

Her smile disappears.  “You said you wanted to see me.” She looks back over her shoulder at the still-open door.  “It sounded important.”

“Yes.  I did.  It is.”  Reaching past her, he closes the front door.  When he’d sent the email he’d assumed it would be a while before she’d be back on the islands.  He’d expected at least a few days warning.  With hindsight, he’s not sure why he’d thought that.

She walks past him, taking a seat on the couch.  She’s wearing a pair of frayed denim shorts and a string bikini top, underneath a checked shirt.  On her feet she’s wearing slippahs.  Her hair’s in a loose plait, hanging over one shoulder.  She looks beautiful, relaxed, her skin sun-kissed and healthy.

There’s sand in her hair.

“You’ve been staying here on the islands.”  The words are out of his mouth before he knows it.  It’s a statement, not a question.

She smiles.  “They gave me some R&R.”

“You didn’t call me.”

“You were on Reserve Duty.”  She shrugs.

It crosses his mind to challenge her.  If she knows he’s been on Reserve Duty she’s been keeping tabs on him. Then he realises there’s nothing to challenge.  Their lives have always been this way, two people in each other’s orbits, so close but never stopping.

“Are you okay?  You look tired.” Concern is written across her face.

Sighing, he takes the seat beside her.  He loved her once, he thinks.  Not the way he loves Danny, but love none the less.  Now she’s sitting here he’s not sure what to say.  She deserves an explanation for what he’s about to tell her.

He starts at the beginning.  He explains about Danny’s accident.  The concern she shows at the news is genuine, he’s sure of that.  She might be focused, capable of being callous when required, but she’d loved being part of the Five 0 ohana.  Danny is like a brother to her.

A flash of guilt makes him look away.  It’s not guilt about his feelings for Danny.  It’s the realisation that he’s let this go on for too long.  He should have been honest years ago. 

“I got a call while I was on the Enterprise,” he says, turning back.  “They put me on the first supply transport back.”  He takes a deep breath.  “It felt like the longest trip of my life, Cath.  I thought…I thought maybe I’d never see Danny again.”

She covers his hand with hers.  His heart misses a beat.  He wants to pull back his hand.  It feels callous though.  He does it anyway. 

Uncertainty starts creeping across her face.  “You didn’t ask me here to talk about a case, did you?”

He shakes his head.  He hadn’t mentioned a case in his email but her assumption doesn’t surprise him.   It’s the only reason they meet.

He swallows hard.  Renee’s advice is echoing in his head.  “I…I don’t think we should see each other again.”

There’s a pause.  He can see the thoughts going through her mind.  “Is this something to do with Danny?”

“Yes.  No.” He shakes his head.  He tries again.  “The accident…it made me realise I have feelings for Danny.  I don’t know if he feels the same way.  But…I’ve got to find out if there’s a chance and I can’t—”

“It’s okay.  I get it.” 

“Cath—”

“I get it.”  She looks away, biting at her bottom lip.  “I wondered sometimes if you and Danny—”

He grabs her hand, tugs it to get her attention.  “We didn’t.”  He carries on tugging until she looks at him.  “I promise.  We didn’t.  We haven’t.  He doesn’t _know_.”

She stares back at him.  Her eyes are swimming with tears.

His heart twists.  He never meant to hurt her.  He can’t back down though.  That would be worse, for both of them, much worse.  He tells her this, every word catching in his throat.  They’d both be settling for second best.  She deserves better.

They both do.

She’s crying openly by the time he finishes.  Tears are sliding down her cheeks.  She rubs at them angrily with the back of her hand.  When he offers to get her tissue she shakes her head.

“I’ve got to go,” she says, getting to her feet.

Not sure what to do, he follows her to the front door.  She’s already outside and stepping off the lanai when he gets there.  She doesn’t stop when he calls her name.  She carries on walking down his driveway.  She doesn’t look back.

He waits until she turns the corner before closing the front door.  With a heavy heart, he heads back upstairs to finish preparing Danny’s bedroom.

H50H50H50H50

“I’ll get you another pillow.”

Danny glares at him from the sofa.  He’s propped up in one corner, his body sinking into a mass of pillows.  His right leg is stretched out in front of him, resting on a foot stool.  His right arm is being supported by another pillow.  There’s no way he’s getting off the sofa without help.  His glare suggests he knows this.

Steve tries for a soothing smile.  “Do you need anything else to drink?  Water?  Coffee?  I got that juice you like—”

“Stop.”  Danny thumps the seat beside him with his good hand.  “Sit.”

Steve resists the urge to make a ‘woof’ sound.  Any attempts at humour right now would probably be met with actual bodily harm.  He sits.

There’s a film on the TV.  Danny’s watching it, his eyes half-shuttered.  He’s still on the good pain meds. 

Steve’s happy to let him watch whatever they want.  They’re on the fourth commercial break when he finally gathers up the courage needs.  Grabbing the remote control, he mutes the film.

Danny blinks at him owlishly. 

“Cath came over yesterday.”

Danny suddenly looks more awake.

“I asked her over.”

Danny raises an eyebrow at him.

“I told her it was over between us.”

Danny licks his lips.  “You _did_?”

“Hmm hmm.”  Steve tells himself not to look at Danny too closely.  This is gonna take work, he reminds himself.  He studies his knees instead.  “I should have done it a long time ago.”

There’s a long pause.

“You okay, babe?  You and Cath, you’d been together a long time.”

Steve nods.  He is okay with it.  Whatever happens, it was still the right decision.  He looks up, meets Danny’s eyes.  They’re full of compassion.  It takes his breath away.  “We were settling for second best.  I think…I think maybe we were both scared of being alone.”

Danny nods.  He looks away.  His expression has turned distant. 

Steve lets him have his own space.  The film is still on.  Explosions are lighting up the screen.

Danny shifts beside him, his body sinking further into the pillows.  He’s still staring off beyond the TV.

Steve waits.  It’s taking all his self-control to sit still.  He wants Danny to say _something._ An argument about the pillows would do fine.  This silence is unnatural. 

Danny  finally turns back, his eyes meeting Steve’s.  They’re thoughtful, worry creeping in around the edges. 

Steve tells himself not to flinch as Danny studies him.  He feels like he’s been dissected.  Taking a breath he lets everything he feels for Danny show in his face.  Renee told him to fight for it and he’s ready – more than ready – to fight.  But he’s decided he needs to put his cards on the table.  If he’s ever going to have a relationship with Danny he needs to be honest. 

Danny huffs.  The ends of his lips twitch up. 

Steve can’t keep quiet any longer.  “What?”

Danny’s lips twitch again.  “Nothing.”

Before Steve can say anything else he finds himself being dragged towards the pillows.  Danny prods and shifts him until they’re sitting side by side, touching from shoulder to hip.  He can feel the warmth of Danny’s body through his clothes.

Danny sighs, his eyes closing.  Gradually he slides sideways, his head coming to rest on Steve’s shoulder.

Steve freezes.  Danny’s hair is brushing his cheek.  He can feel his breaths on his skin.  Listening, he regulates his breathing to Danny’s.  His eyes drift closed as he body finally slows. 

He feels like he’s been running at top speed since that early morning call to the USS Enterprise.  The last week has passed in a blur.  Suddenly it feels like the world’s stopped spinning.  The constant feeling of panic is a distant memory.  It’s just him and Danny, no one else.

He’s smiling as he falls asleep.

THE END


End file.
